Landscape seems to have always permeated the work of Kestenbaum Ben-Dov. Her continued investigation of it, alongside the biographical and artistic contexts she weaves into it, has been evident in earlier series such as “The Same Landscape” (2000-2013), “Prayer Rugs” (2003-2005), and “Studio Dreams” (2015-2018). In each of these series, she explored questions of personal identity, connection to place, and relationship to others.

The series “Small Landscapes” continues her long-standing practice of painting from direct observation of the landscape, which requires a particular type of attentiveness, in an attempt to capture a fleeting moment in time. The pulsating vitality of nature and its shifting light are transformed in this series into a sense of wonder at the rocky terrain, the tangle of bushes and trees, and the movement of clouds. These small landscapes enable Kestenbaum Ben-Dov to focus her thoughts on other types of works, in which the landscape becomes part of a more complex and contemplative creative process.
In the series “Land of Painting,” the investigation of the landscape’s multifaceted nature continues as a mirror to both pictorial and spiritual questions. The starting point for the paintings is her immediate surroundings, or as far as the eye can see. From there, they open to a view of daylight and starlight, from near and far, in motion and from a bird’s-eye view. Her physical presence is evident in them, as she is both part of the landscape (an Act of Creation) and as she observes and paints it (a creative act).
Amid the myriad voices, artistic languages and references to landscape in Israeli painting, Kestenbaum Ben-Dov’s work marks a unique pathway, rooted in a personal and psychological journey. Her painterly movement oscillates between two modes of observation – inward and outward, between nature’s vitality and inner questions. This is “faith-based painting,” that may only be understood deeply by looking at values and belief systems; painting that expresses landscapes of the soul no less than artistic and painterly practices. Her point of view grants her painting its distinctive quality. This is painting in which one thing stems from another, past meets present and vice versa, like in the cycle of life, like the cyclical quality of nature itself.